Booth suffers another head injury in Panthers’ loss

March 25, 2010|By Steve Gorten, Staff Writer

Montreal — The Panthers and winger David Booth suffered another scary incident Thursday night after a hit to the head from Canadiens defenseman Jaroslav Spacek in the second period of a 4-1 loss at Bell Center sent Booth to the hospital in an ambulance.

General Manager Randy Sexton said after the game that Booth was coherent, clear and alert at the hospital, and was undergoing tests to determine whether he suffered a concussion. Sexton said he didn't know whether Booth would stay overnight in the hospital.

He's expected to join the team for the bus ride to Ottawa on Friday. The Panthers had planned to stay overnight in Montreal before the injury.

"I'm worried for any player who gets injured, whether it's ours or somebody else's," Sexton said. "I believe he cut his nose and he's got a few scrapes on his face, but they're minor in nature compared to the possibility of another head injury."

The Panthers were trailing 2-0 when Spacek rushed in and caught Booth squarely in the jaw with what appeared to be his elbow at 1:10 of the second period. Booth, who had been moving the puck near the boards, fell and lay face down motionless on the ice for a few moments.

Woozy, he managed to get up and get to the locker room with the help of teammates and Panthers' trainer Dave Zenobi.

Booth's injury Thursday came five months and one day after Mike Richards nailed him in the head with his shoulder in Philadelphia. Booth suffered his first ever concussion that night when he fell to the ice face first and missed the next 45 games.

Thursday's hit was different. While Richards received a game misconduct, Spacek wasn't penalized. And unlike on Richards' hit, Booth didn't fall on the ice face first.

Sexton, coach Pete DeBoer and goalie Scott Clemmensen, who helped Booth off the ice, said they thought Spacek's hit was clean.

Still, the scene of Booth lying on the ice face down "wasn't a great deja vu," Sexton said.

"Particularly him and what he's been through," DeBoer said. "We're all concerned and thinking about him and crossing our fingers. When he got hit, I was hoping he had the wind knocked out of him, but when he continued to lay on his stomach, you start to get concerned."

Booth, who returned to action Jan. 31 against the Islanders, was just starting to return to old form. He had four goals in his past four games before Thursday, including two goals in Toronto two nights before.

"It's tough. You never want to see a friend of yours lay on the ice like that," Clemmensen said of Thursday's hit. "It's an unfortunate situation for him just because of the injury he sustained earlier this year."

Earlier Thursday, the NHL's Players Association voted in favor of instituting an immediate rule change for hits to the head. It came about in large part because of the hit Booth endured from Richards Oct. 24.

It went into effect prior to Thursday's games and will last through the end of the playoffs. The PA's competition committee will eventually come up with a permanent rule expected to include an on-ice penalty for such hits.

Defenseman Bryan Allen, the Panthers' player representative, said, "There have been too many incidents that have gone unnoticed and unpenalized. It's something we have to do to protect ourselves."

Heavy load

The Panthers have been cautious about Allen's surgically repaired knee all season, but his workload has been huge lately. Allen led the team in ice time Tuesday in Toronto (28:15). Before playing 22:09 Thursday, he had played more than 28 minutes in three of the past six games, including a season-high 29:18 at San Jose when he scored the winning goal in overtime.

Despite missing four games because of a groin injury, winger Byron Bitz has been a notable addition since acquired from Boston at the trade deadline for Dennis Seidenberg. Bitz scored his first goal as a Panther Saturday and had an assist Sunday.